


"The Taming of Ossë" by Nerdanel

by she_who_recs



Series: Order of the Silm [4]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, Graphic Art, Illustrated Fic, Moving on with your life, grief and regret, mermaid!Uinen, merman!Ossë, unintentional art therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-07-24 22:03:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16184066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_who_recs/pseuds/she_who_recs
Summary: Regret is a riptide; it drowns those who stray into it.UPDATE: Now illustrated 'Order of the Silm'-style





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 98% beta'd by Dawn Felagund; hopefully That One Paragraph is now satisfactorily dynamic.

_Tap, tap,_ goes the chisel.

      Uinen is nearly finished: no gentle water maiden, but fierce and sleek as a sea serpent. Nerdanel is especially pleased with the eyes, determined rather than desperate; this Uinen _will_ draw her beloved up from the depths of his madness, though all Moringotto’s demons would stand in the way.

      Ossë’s half-shaped form looms away from Uinen; his chest and arm are outthrust, like a tidal wave poised to break upon the world. Though his body is surging forward, his head is turned back to look at his wife, his features troubled.

      Uinen is nearly finished; Nerdanel puts down the chisel and stand back to survey her work. The upswept hair, the outstretched arms. Those eyes, filled with stubborn love. Maybe it is a kind of desperation, she thinks, fear of loss transmuted to reckless courage. The resolve to follow him down, nigh to the edge of the abyss if need be. Never hesitating, never doubting. The faith, the _prayer_ , that he will choose her over his own willfulness. That in the end he will have been worth it…

      Nerdanel’s gaze is drawn, almost unwillingly, back to Ossë; for a heartbeat those stony white eyes seem to burn a smoldering grey–

      But no. Fëanáro would not have looked back.

_Then I will not look back, either._

      Nerdanel picks up her chisel.

_Tap, tap._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has come full circle: I based the story on an idea for an artwork, and now I've made an artwork based on the story.

[ ](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPE6p8Ieh1jWuYcLAuwitV7JTUxa-AWDFe2_9ois5rGAhWsvkSXhcT9N-8VMfC15Q?key=akdiRGNJQlI4NmRLOFBIOXBZVmY1RDJqQ3N4TzZB&source=ctrlq.org)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I've decided to dispense with the "elves literally have glowing eyes" thing, it looks stupid more often than not.  
> 2\. I would have given Nerdanel some sort of safety goggles, but it blocked too much of her expression. So assume that Amazing Elven Reflexes(TM) mean they don't need to worry about chips of stone flying into their eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Hand to Eru, I've been working on this 227-word ficlet on-and-off since _April_ (most of it on just one paragraph). I don't know how you long-ficcers out there _do it_.
> 
> Please review/concrit, if only to make me better about my ridiculous writing pace.


End file.
